Emmett Institute on Climate Change & the Environment

Renewable Energy Beyond 2020

Next Steps for California

California is on pace to meet its goal of securing 33 percent of the state’s electricity from renewable sources like solar and wind by 2020. But energy experts report that the in-state market for renewable energy will lose momentum without new policies to encourage deployment beyond 2020. To help spur growth, this report, written by UCLA Climate Policy Associate Ethan Elkind, recommends a new renewable energy target for 2030 that accounts for greenhouse gas emissions and tracks the state's long-term climate change goal. To achieve this outcome, policy makers will need to plan for renewable energy deployment to occur in the most efficient and cost-effective manner and to provide incentives to help realize this vision.